Meditation 101: 6 Benefits of Solitude and Reflection

Joshua is an ex-addict and founder of the Ohio Addiction Recovery Center. Since his recovery began, he has enjoyed using his talent for words to help spread treatment resources, addiction awareness, and general health knowledge.

Meditation isnít just meant for yogis, monks, and the spiritual-seeking - you, the everyday person, can reap its numerous and wonderful benefits as well.

These are six benefits of solitude and reflection in meditation:

1. Cultivates a deeper and stronger sense of self-awareness

Meditation helps you see the bigger picture, put things into perspective, and cultivate self-awareness. You feel more inclined to ask yourself important and soul-searching questions during it such as: ďam I satisfied with what I am doing?Ē, ďhave I changed for the better?Ē, ďis there anything I can do to improve the current state of my life?Ē, and so forth. Also, meditation allows you the time to reflect on why you made certain mistakes in the past in order to help you make better choices in the future.

2. You learn to be comfortable in your own skin

When you spend enough time in solitude, you realize you donít need the company of other people to feel fulfilled and validated. Your body becomes a place of refuge because you learn that it is possible to be comfortable alone. In addition, you can reflect on what truly makes you happy and use that knowledge to take better care of yourself and pursue your genuine interests.

3. Coping with stress will be easier

Meditation is a great coping mechanism for stress. It helps you stay grounded and rational in stressful situations which decreases impulsive, emotional response. Moreover, meditation also reduces the likelihood of experiencing depression and anxiety since it hushes the tumultuous tendencies of overwhelming emotions.

4. Rekindles creativity

The neocortex part of your brain, the area responsible for igniting creativity, is stimulated during meditation. It is directly correlated to our ability to visualize possibilities, which can allow your thoughts and creative juices to flow freely and without judgement. Most significantly, after a meditation session, you will feel that everything in the outside world has the potential to be a source of inspiration or motivation for self-expression.

5. Propels you to be more productive and action-oriented

If you struggle with accomplishing goals or self-discipline, you can analyze your current actions and figure out
better ways to execute tasks when meditating. Evidently, you will begin to think about the strengths and unique qualities you possess, which is a catalyst for building confidence. During this time, you can also acknowledge your accomplishments thus far and celebrate them. Itís easy to forget all that we have accomplished because it is much easier to focus on the negative and our failures.

6. You become more empathic and compassionate towards others and yourself

During meditation, you naturally begin to think of things bigger than yourself, such as love, relationships, and life as a whole. You will wonder what those mean to you and how they are currently impacting you. At the same time, you will gradually understand how they affect you and others, and will unconsciously make an effort to be loving and positive in your future actions.

Meditation undeniably proves that it benefits your life, and it is never too late to make it a daily part of yours.